Friday, August 21, 2009

BOTTOM LINE: Hour long, completely improvised musical that is quite possibly the most fun you’ll have at the Fringe Fest this year.

So I think that pretty much sums up what you will experience at the kick ass new improv show, Baby Wants Candy. A group of actors take a suggestion from the audience and think up an hour long musical right there on the spot. Hilarity ensues.

I had a great, great, time at Baby Wants candy. It’s hard to say a lot about the show because it will be completely different each night, but I'll metion a little about opening night. With the suggestion “A Scotsman in Thailand,” the group of actors came up with a tale of a young Scottish man who leaves his island home to find love in the red light district of Thailand and encounters gay backpacks, fame hungry female pimps, cross gender whores, a sexual compulsive who travels the world, and cute kittens. That’s right. Cute Kittens.

And yet some how it all made sense. I laughed more than I have at any other improv show I’ve seen in the city. The entire cast was incredible, but I was in particular awe of the vocal stylings and biting wit of Eliza Skinner. Thomas Middleditch played a young Thai whore and a gay backpack (at one point in the same scene) with the skill that trumps anything that you will see on Saturday Night Live or The Upright Citizen’s and I wouldn’t be surprised to see popping up all over film and television very soon. He is definitely someone to watch. Much of the success of Baby Wants Candy can also be contributed to the phenomenal band who improvises an entire musical score as well. The styles ranged from hip hop, far east flavor, power ballads, to Scottish folk dance and they never missed a beat.

I really think that Baby Wants Candy is great. After the Fringe Fest run, it will continue performances in the fall at The Barrow Street Theatre. I know that I will definitely be attending that run in the fall, that is, if I don’t go back to see it again this year at the fringe festival. If you are looking for a wonderfully entertaining night, go see Baby Wants Candy. Seriously. Go See It.

(Baby Wants Candy plays at The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street. Performances are Friday 8/21 at 11:00pm, Saturdayd 8/22 at 2:00 pm, Thursday 8/27 at 6:00pm and Saturday 8/29 at 1:00 pm. Tickets are $15. To purchase tickets or for more info visit babywantscandy.com and for more info on FringeNYC visit fringenyc.org.)